19 October 2011

My sister and brother-in-law were visiting from Poland, so we were out and about a lot. The weather was perfect for this time of year, still beach weather in the afternoon but no longer oppressively hot like in July and August. We did not go on any long trips. All the places shown here are within 50 km of Alicante (or in Alicante itself).

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On Sunday, we drove along the beach road south of Alicante, towards Santa Pola. The beaches here are more savage than those in the either Alicante or Santa Pola:

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This is a place with no chiringuitos, just privacy except for prying photographers :-):

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Threesomes:

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Our target this day was Hostal Maruja, the rustic beach restaurant which I showed a couple of weeks ago. This is part of our lunch:

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The season is ending, and the neighbouring restaurant had already closed for the winter, such as it is:

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On the way back to Alicante, we stopped at the lighthouse just north of Santa Pola. It is on a plain high above the beach, a real desert landscape popular with hikers and mountain-bikers:

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Others just sit and take in the view of the Mediterranean:

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Another day we headed north, to the Algar waterfall (Fonts de l’Algar) northwest of Benidorm. It is a lush oasis in the mountains, a popular alternative to the beach:

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The water in the river is always cool:

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There are even places where one can swim:

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Back home, these are “my” cats, waiting for the food I often leave for them:

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Detail of a new restaurant boat in Alicante harbour:

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Additional patron at O’Hara’s bar on the Esplanade:

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On Saturday we drove inland again, to the Embalse de Amadorio, a large water reservoir near Benidorm:

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Another view:

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It is apparent that the summer has been very dry:

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The dam at the end of the reservoir:

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Finally, there was a week-long fiesta in El Campello. The main event was Moros y Cristianos the following week. In the meantime, the little town centre was filled with attractions for children like this jumping castle: